Move raises questions about status of Ainu ethnic minority, whose cultural identity Japan is legally obliged to protect

Japan’s commitment to the rights of its indigenous people has been questioned after organisers of this summer’s Tokyo Olympics dropped a performance by members of the Ainu ethnic minority from the Games’ opening ceremony.

Members of the Ainu community, originally from Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido, had been expecting to showcase their culture to the world in a dance at the Olympic stadium, but learned recently that the plans had been scrapped.

Related: Dream weavers: the indigenous Ainu people of Japan – in pictures